Playing as the British in Empire: Total War

Written by: Simon Hill • Edited by: J. F. Amprimoz
Updated Mar 8, 2010

The British Empire was vast with colonies across the globe. Empire: Total War gives you the chance to play as Great Britain and see if you can match or surpass the glory and riches of the nation which was then the most powerful on the planet. This is a comprehensive guide to bring you victory.

The British Empire

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In the glory days they used to say the sun never set on the British Empire and there were colonies run by the British all across the globe. A steady trade into bustling ports made the country rich and a strong navy combined with an efficient army led to this small, craggy island being the most powerful country on the planet. Of course it was achieved through violent pillaging and widespread slaughter. Many believed they were improving the world as “civilization” was spread at the barrel of a musket and others just seized the opportunity to make a fortune.

Empire: Total War gives you the chance to see if you can match those achievements and brings back a time when global empire was more than just a dim and distant memory. Can you rise to the challenge and develop the home territories while seizing more colonies abroad? Can you rule the seven seas with a well drilled navy protecting your ill gotten gains on the trade routes? Can you defeat the natives, put down rebellions and hold your own against the powerful old nations of Europe? Will you spread the Protestant faith in the face of Catholic opposition and avoid a revolution such as that facing the French? Time to find out as we take a look at the British in Empire: Total War.

Starting Advantages

This guide will suggest some strategies that should help you win as the British. They start with a number of advantages so it is far from impossible to achieve a crushing victory. The ideas here are by no means the only way to gain a victory, these are just the things that worked well for me. To begin with, the fact that you are on an island and not continental Europe is a huge bonus. I have tried the game on various difficulty settings and even after leaving the homeland relatively weak Britain has never been invaded. You start the game in a position of strength relative to many of the other factions and you’ll find yourself in possession of a number of colonies. This is a great starting base to build from.

Trade and Consolidate Britain

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Build Indiamen ships and send them to each of the trade theatres as fast as possible. You should be able to sneak them there without escort and ensure you establish a trade route from each theatre. You may need to send some naval support out later but generally I found once in place on the trade spot the Indiamen never got attacked. Start building up your school in Oxford and send the gentlemen straight in there so that your technology research is as fast as possible. You could consider destroying the church and building a second school for faster research, there didn’t seem to be much point in having the church development in England, but be warned this will increase clamour for reform. In terms of research you will want to develop bayonets as quickly as possible because the Native Americans in particular tend to charge you in battle and they’ll make short work of your troops in melee combat. You should also develop farming so you can make more money and increase population growth.

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Lee Feb 14, 2011 3:59 PM

A bit more advice

Adam I think you'll find that rifles were far too expensive to used throughout the British Army. Very few regiments used rifles. The vast majority of the Army used muskets as they were a lot cheaper.

Adam hunt Sep 17, 2010 1:37 PM

A bit of advice

Hi a very good Guide for the game though i would like to make a note the flag at the begining is not of the british empire, that is the flag of the united kngdom , the flag of great britan does not have the italic like red bits. also the british empire also used deplomacy so your description and the front is a bit inacurate though of course i do not belive the slavery was appropreate. also the british empire used rifles not muckets. but thats just me naggiling. but it is a very helpfull guide thanks for posting it

Jacob Aug 6, 2010 1:13 AM

British Campaign

1. True, in the first 3-5 turns I knock out the cherokees of the game. I also delete the units in Canada in the first turn to save some cash. Bulid a Ship of the line one every two turns as much as you can afford. and build a merchant ship from every trade port. Most of the time they are cannon fodder and you will lose alot of ships but with you money fluctuating you can divert money from the ships you made from the trade port to the Ship of the line.

2. When the Iroquois declare war I think building an army to defend THE 13 is the best way so in the mean time you can put some more focus on India. So transporting troops from England will help. Also building a huge cheap army in Port Royal to invade the Pirates will help. Once the pirates are knocked out. Delete as many as you feel to save cash.

3. After getting a foothold in India by one of the major city centers or two, Destroy the Iroquois quickly and bulid One or two Elite Armies in England to defend/attack from/the French and Spanish. Once the colonies are yours, you should have a formidable or dominant Navy at the time to defend the coast of the colonies. But if you wanna be safe, put a cheap unit on every port to delay any invasion.

This is just my own opinion. Researching I get 4 schools made and 3 of them research Government and Naval. 1 does infantry and industries. When I felt my navy, ports and enlightenment is above all others I adjust the research to help out the economy. The reason being is they had the strongest navy enlightenments of the day so following their historical footsteps is the key.

Britt May 14, 2010 10:17 AM

Cherokees

I think there are very good oppertunities to start in the Americas.
For the English I find it is easier to attack the Cherokee early. Their territories start highly developed and have a pretty high income, so the longer you wait, their forces grow quickly. They start off fairly week though. In the early turns this is some of the easiest and most valuable territories you can take as England. Also I find that the Iroquois Nation almost always declares war on the 13 Colonies the first turn and usually seizes New England and/or New York. The Iroquois do not have the tech and quality units like the Cherokees, but they start with some significant numbers. I recommend for the early game to come in to help the 13 colonies and take back what the Iroquois seize and their eastern territories. Their armies are large for so early in the game but they are not high quality. Line regiments do well against them, though militia will not without bayonets techs. The colonies with little support are able to fend the Iroquois off over time having more capacity to make new units, but seizing this territory is a good ground to build some experienced units and set up territories and forts for an eventual conflict with France. I recommend then following through with an attack on the Cherokees and then seizing territories in the Caribbean from Pirates and or the French if you are in conflict with them at this time. The factions in India also start very week, but generally I find they fight each other constantly, keep each other balanced, and remain relatively week for a long time from that conflict. The Native American factions building trees are also much shorter, so their buildings are more valuable to capture early in the game. The Cherokee level 2 farms have the same outputs nearly as level 4 European ones. With this shorter building tree; their territories are more valuable in the early game, and require much less cash to develop.

Jon Bryan Feb 5, 2010 5:03 PM

Stuert Towler

A message should pop up at the beggining of the turn that the route is blockaded. Click on the magnifying glass.

Stuert Towler Jan 25, 2010 10:15 AM

Empire total war- Trade routes

How i can see which of my trade routes are being blockaged?

Playing as the British in Empire: Total War

The British Empire

Starting Advantages

Trade and Consolidate Britain

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